Trouble in Sudden Falls: A Sudden Falls Romance (11 page)

“We can at least look into it now.”

Part of her felt apprehensive about taking the store away from Maddie. Rob had been pretty unfair to her during the course of the council meeting—which was unusual. Normally he had the patience of a saint when it came to those semi-monthly meetings.

This whole evening was slightly suspicious.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask.” She figured he’d forget about it in a couple of days anyway.

“I’ll call and make a bid for the previous asking price even if the store isn’t on the market.” Without so much as another glance her way, he buried himself in his paperwork.

“
Oo
-kay.” She backed out of his office, the conversation clearly closed. He didn’t acknowledge her confusion or even that she’d left as she pulled his door closed with a firm snick.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Lisbet Roarke.

It figured that as soon as Maddie decided to go to an estate auction that she’d seen advertised in the paper, the person who hated her more than any other would show up with a full entourage.

“Hello, Lisbet.” Maddie tried to muster some friendliness. “I’m looking for inventory for the store.”

Lisbet wrinkled her nose as if she’d smelled something bad. “Good luck with that.”

Maddie suspected that anything she bid on today would have a lot of counter bids.

“Nice to see you.” She turned around and ignored the cackles and derisive remarks of Lisbet and her posse.

She ducked inside the refreshment tent, out of the sun and away from the prying eyes of those who still trailed after Lisbet like the favorite daughter of the town that Lisbet evidently still was.

Leaving Maddie to play the part of evil antagonist who’d ruined the princess’s life forever. Maddie was sure that the town even blamed her for the loss of the former beauty queen’s looks, though it was clearly time and poor care, and likely too much alcohol—if the puffy eyes were any indication—that had really taken the toll.

Maddie would be willing to cop to a really dirty prank. That was something for which she was one hundred percent to blame. But that one prank shouldn’t have turned Lisbet into…
this

In high school, Lisbet, a veteran of the pagent cicuit had been long predicted to win the title of Miss Apple Blossom, which would have garnered her a full scholarship and the opportunity to compete in the Miss Ohio pageant. The rest of the girls in the Apple Blossom Pageant were competing for second place. The town had expected her to win. The judges had expected her to win and Lisbet had definitely expected to win. Maddie had been perfectly aware that Lisbet had already written her Miss America acceptance speech and fully intended to deliver it.

Maddie’s intention had been to embarrass Lisbet as much as she’d embarrassed Maddie by telling the whole world about Maddie’s crush on Eli and then announcing that Lisbet herself had begun dating him. Her intention had
not
been to ruin Lisbet’s entire future.

At barely eighteen, Maddie hadn’t been very good about recognizing the possible consequences of her actions. When she’d taken the seam ripper and removed about every third stitch in Lisbet’s evening gown, she’d hoped that the dress would disintegrate in the middle of Lisbet’s speech about how she’d change the world.

As luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened. The judges’ sympathy might have made up for the fact that Lisbet had appeared on stage in nothing but her bra, panties and a shredded dress. However, no amount of feeling sorry for the girl could have countered Lisbet’s loss of composure (i.e. temper tantrum) as she yelled a number of choice phrases at Maddie who, prior to the prank blowing up in her face, had found the entire scene ever-so compelling and appropriate.

Unfortunately, the good will of the town toward Maddie disintegrated so much faster than Lisbet’s seams.

One member of Lisbet’s fan club—possibly a newcomer in town, because Maddie had never seen her before—came into the tent, gave Maddie a death-ray glare, then left.

Perfect.
Now even complete strangers hated her.

Maddie squared her shoulders, unwilling to play the part of the victim hiding out in the refreshment tent. There was a time when she had enough gumption to look people in the eye and to unapologetically be who she was.

She paid for a bottle of water and a cookie so it was clear she’d had legitimate business in the tent, then marched out, heading directly for the antiques and prayed that Lisbet and company kept their distance.

She had inventory to acquire. Maddie would continue to operate as if the store were about to open. Because it
would.
Come hell or high water.

She had a vague idea from the paperwork left in the filing cabinet, what the current inventory of the store was. And of course, it helped that she’d worked with her aunt in high school. She knew the drill and had enough money in her bank account that she could purchase a couple of pieces if she found something good. According to the paper, it was going to be a great auction.

Within twenty minutes, she found three pieces she wanted to bid on and one beautiful but scratched and dented Shaker table that she wouldn’t. She could probably get a good price on it here because of its flaws, and if she fixed it up, she could sell it for a significant markup in the store. Unfortunately, she had no skill for woodworking nor the desire to learn. Too bad she didn’t yet have a good contact that could do that kind of work, as fully restored, this piece would be worth a lot.

Her cell phone rang right before the bidding was about to begin.

“Hi. Maddie O’Callaghan?”

“Yes.”

“This is Rob Watson with Sudden Falls Realty. I realize this is kind of late, since your aunt’s store was on the market for six months without an offer, but I needed to let you know that I’ve got a good one for you now.”

“The store’s no longer for sale.” Maddie felt a wave of resentment slide down her neck.

“I am aware that after the six-month contract period without any major bites, your mother took it off the market, but I think you should listen to this offer.”

“Who is it from?”

He cleared his throat. “Emma, actually.”

The mayor’s wife. Of course. Mayor Watson had marched his way toward the top of her hit list after his brusque behavior at the council meeting, but he now got special honors. Was buying the store for his wife what that travesty of a council meeting had been about?

He had a lot of nerve to call.

How much was she supposed to put up with in one day? First Lisbet and her band of ladies in waiting, and now this. She let loose with both barrels. “I have absolutely no intention of selling. In fact, you can kiss my—”

“I get the picture,” he interrupted.

The auction lost its remaining charm after that.

“Down, girl,” Eli said in response to Maddie’s chilly greeting.

She realized her tone might have been a touch frostier than she was going for, but she hadn’t expected Eli’s appearance at the store mere moments before the expected arrival of Howard McAdams, the county inspector. What was Eli doing? Sticking his nose in her business—once again?

As if he had a direct line on her thoughts, he responded before she could ask. “There was a weird vibe at the council meeting and I’m not sure why. I wanted to make sure everything with the inspection is on the up and up. You don’t want him to
find
anything that isn’t actually a problem, do you?”

“What do you know about building codes and buildings?”

“I
did
work construction for five summers before during and after college.”

She felt slightly mollified. “So you did. I’d kinda forgotten that.” She shrugged. “Sorry. But Howard McAdams is one of the most upstanding citizens in town. He’d be the last person to invent problems.”

Eli shrugged. “You’re probably right. Better safe than sorry, though, right?” A white pickup with county markings pulled up and a man in his mid-to-late-forties, with a gregarious smile, thinning, red-going-gray hair and a professional air emerged.

She remembered Howard from high school. He’d coached the girls’ softball team which she’d been on. He was an outgoing family man who’d coached little league long after his kids were onto other things and was a deacon of his church.

“Coach McAdams,” she said, a grin on her face. He had been one of the very few bright spots in an otherwise dismal high school career. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Why Miss Maddie. You’re all grown up.” He dug a set of keys from the ring at his belt. He found the key he needed and then wrapped Maddie in a big hug.

Except for Eli, it was the first ‘Welcome Home’ she’d received.

“Still playing softball?”

She released him reluctantly. “Not since college intramurals.”

“Too bad. You were good.” She felt like a kid glowing under his praise, but she let it wash over her nonetheless. “Let’s see what we have here.” He unlocked the padlock and opened the door and they stepped into the store.

The store looked exactly the way it had when Aunt Millie had been alive, only covered with a haze of dust and nostalgia. She looked to the front window and recalled sitting there as a child while her aunt waited on customers. Millie had placed tiny chairs and a tea set there so Maddie could play tea party with several antique china dolls.

The inspector got right to business, looking at all the outlets. He plugged a doo-hickey into each outlet as he came to it. Several lights on the doo-hickey lit up and he made a notation on a clipboard. He unscrewed a few of the outlets with a small electric screwdriver to make sure everything was wired properly. “What I’m looking for,” he said as he replaced one of the covers, “is that all of these were re-wired with three-wire Molex instead of the two-wire cloth that would have been used when the house was built.

“And are they?”

“Yup.” He squinted down the hall. “Do you have a step ladder? I’ve got one in the truck, if not.”

She scrambled to remember where the ladder might be. “I think it’s in the linen closet next to the bathroom in the back.”

Eli fetched the ladder and handed it to the inspector who used it to examine the light fixtures hanging from the nine foot ceilings.

From there, he moved to inspect the window casings. “These are all properly installed. Your aunt had good taste. Brand new high quality replacement windows. I can’t for the life of me figure out why there was a condemnation order. Generally, a lack of inspection wouldn’t cause that, even though technically, by law it can.” He shrugged. “I’m going to wander outside and look at the foundation.”

Maddie figured that it had been an effort to get her out of town, and the thought saddened her more than she’d be willing to let on. How could she make the town realize she’d changed from the person she’d been in high school?

He returned a few minutes later as Maddie continued to move through the store, imagining how it would look when she’d set it up the way she wanted. Her aunt had some beautiful pieces in stock.

“There are some outer cellar doors, but they’re locked. Do you know where the key is?”

Maddie shook her head. “I kind of forgot that this place has a basement. I’ve never actually been down there.”

“Is there an interior door?”

“If there is, I suspect that it’s the one in the hallway at the back of the store. Let me show you.”

“These old Victorians had a lot of character.” He looked around at the nooks and crevices in the walls that each had some interesting display. “How long did your aunt have this store?”

“She converted it to a store front in the early sixties, I think. The house had been in the family before that. She lived upstairs until she died.”

“Sudden heart attack, wasn’t it? Not a good way to go,” McAdams said thoughtfully.

No it hadn’t been. She’d been too tough and too dear to Maddie for her to be prepared for the loss. Aunt Millie had been a darling and Maddie missed her terribly still. That her death was followed days later by her father’s stroke made it doubly awful.

She led them to the basement door. Aunt Millie had always kept it locked and Maddie had no idea where the key was. She recalled that during her childhood, there was some secrecy surrounding the door, but it was a mystery that died with Aunt Millie. “I think it opens with a skeleton key, but I have no idea where it might be.”